N.J. rescue ‘running on fumes’ as fires threaten local wildlife

Nancy Warner’s wildlife refuge, which houses a menagerie of foxes, skunks, opossums, raccoons, squirrels, a kinkajou, a young bobcat and one porcupine with a broken leg, has been fielding more calls than usual in recent days. In fact, they’ve been inundated.
“It’s been insane,” she told NJ Advance Media in a phone interview this week. “It’s been absolute chaos.”
The avalanche of emergency calls are to report animals at risk from the hundreds of wildfires that have sprung up, particularly the Jennings Creek fire, which has ripped across more than 5,000 acres of New Jersey and New York.
In New Jersey, the Jennings Creek fire has burned through 2,283 acres, much of it in Passaic County, where the Last Resort Wildlife Refuge is based.
Warner and her team of 12 “rehabbers” and apprentices have spent the last week scrambling to mobilize a response. They’ve taken in some animals and traveled out to check on others, in one case going door to door in Awosting to ask residents to keep an eye out for an injured coyote reportedly loping around. The animals they’re finding are stressed, burned, suffering from smoke inhalation, and deeply dehydrated.
On Tuesday, somebody called in about a black bear. Last Resort staffers teamed up with state and local officials to get into a charred section of the forest along the border, where they caught sight of the bear, lying on her side next to a tree.
They observed her from a distance to assess her condition. Luckily, although the bear seemed exhausted, her injuries weren’t extensive enough to require intervention. “It was a win,” Warner recalled. “It was definitely a win amongst all the sadness we’ve been seeing.”
Bears, and wildlife in general, are resilient and have “an amazing capacity” to heal, according to Warner. But it’s imperative that they are not approached, particularly if they’re injured. Instead, Warner asked that people put water out in shallow containers, keep pets and children indoors, and call the Last Resort Wildlife Refuge’s dedicated 24-hour hotline if a potentially injured animal is spotted.
Warner also asked that the public have patience with wild animals, many of whom are fleeing destroyed habitats or venturing out of their normal territory in search of water. “They’re confused, they’re scared, they don’t know where to go,” she said. “They’ve never experienced anything like this.”
Neither has the Last Resort Wildlife Refuge, which has been around since the late 1990s. A fire near Echo Lake last year gave them “a little bit of a scare,” but that wasn’t nearly as close to the 86-acre sanctuary as the Jennings Creek fire is. At its closest, the fire was just 2 miles away. And as Warner spoke to NJ Advance Media, readying to go check out yet another injury report, she said she could still see and smell the smoke.
A potential evacuation of the refuge’s 60-odd charges would be an “absolutely monumental task,” she said. There’s a plan in place to capture the animals in their enclosures and keep them calm as they’re transported alongside incubators, heaters, water filters and the rest of the center’s equipment, but it’s one she’s hopeful won’t have to be executed.
In the meantime, Warner and her team are focused on the animals who most need help, but the last week has been a test of their mettle. Their hotline has been buzzing nonstop. “We’re running (on) fumes here,” she posted on Facebook on Wednesday night. “The last few days have been challenging to say the least. Draining and very difficult.”
Still, Warner said, she’s encouraged by the overwhelming community support the refuge has received, with people donating money and equipment, ordering them items off their Amazon Wish List, and asking how they can get involved. The sanctuary team is too busy right now to train and supervise new volunteers, but Warner asked that those interested reach out once the fires have gotten under control and brighter days are ahead.
“Baby season is just around the corner!” she wrote on Facebook, adding that volunteers will be needed in the winter, spring and summer.
The Jennings Creek fire was 90% contained in New Jersey on Friday, fire officials said, and 65% contained in New York. The New Jersey Forest Fire Service is set to remain on scene with fire engines and ground crews, with the cause of the blaze still under investigation.
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AJ McDougall may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @oldmcdougall.